Paper clips



Oct. 20, 1959 KENNETH W. CHAUN PAPER CLIPS FiledOct. 21, 1957 Inventor KENNETH w. CHAUN By zz/r4 A ttorn e y United States Patent C PAPER CLIPS Kenneth W. Chaun, Hong Kong Application October 21, 1957, Serial No. 691,472

Claims priority, application Great Britain October 24, 1956 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-'66) The present invention relates to improved paper clips and has for its object to overcome, or at least to minimise, the disadvantages of paper clips of known construction.

Amongst other advantages of a paper clip constructed in accordance with the invention, it may be mentioned that (a) the part of the clip which is on the top of a pile or sheaf of papers upon which it is mounted does not normally overlie the printing or writing, (b) that the clip cannot easily be slipped oif the sheaf of papers, that it can be applied to the corner of a sheaf of papers so that the sheet may be turned without dislodging the clip from the sheaf of papers and (d) two or more of the clips may be applied to a side or top of a sheaf of papers in such a way that the complete sheaf is for all practical purposes bound up in book form.

The invention consists in a paper clip comprising a front bar which is fitted on the top of the outer paper of the sheaf of papers to be clipped together and a rear part which is made up of two extensions of the front bar and which fits at the rear of the sheaf of papers, the front bar being spaced from the rear part of the clip so as to provide a space in which the sheaf of papers may be inserted.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, an example of a paper clip constructed in accordance therewith will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a clip in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the clip shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a view showing the paper clip of Figures 1 and 2 applied to the corner of a sheaf of papers.

In the following description the words front and rear will be used to denote the front and rear parts of a clip which, respectively, are arranged at the front and rear of a sheaf of papers when the clip is in use. The paper clip consists of a single length of wire which is shaped to form a front bar C, each end of the front bar C being turned outwardly for a short distance substantially at right angles to the bar to form a short front limb B. The upper end of each limb B is turned over and rearwardly at E to form a rear limb A which, when in use, is set back from the front limb C so that a paper-receiving space of appropriate depth is formed between the two limbs.

Each of the said rear limbs A slopes laterally away from, and at an outward angle to, the corresponding front limb B. The two rear limbs A are equal in length,

Fatented Oct. 20, 1959 ice the inner end of each of these limbs being spaced well below the front bar C and each inner end merging by curvature into a rear bar G which is substantially parallel to the front bar C and the length of which is such that its inner end is positioned substantially at the centre of length of the front bar C. The said inner end of each of the rear bars G merges by curvature into an outwardly-directed limb H which projects outwardly beyond the level of the front bar C and the outer end of which is curved over and outwardly at a relatively large radius to form a loop D. The outer side of each loop extends inwardly beyond the level of the front bar and the free end of each loop is curved inwardly towards the said outwardly-directed limb.

The paper clip is preferably made from wire of such a kind that it will be somewhat resilient so as to grip papers firmly between the front limbs B and the rear limbs A. When the clip is not in use, the major parts of the front limbs B lie in the same plane as the rear limbs A (see Figure 2). However, a small portion of each front limb B adjacent to the front bar C is inclined upwardly out of the aforesaid plane so that the insertion of papers under the front bar C is facilitated.

The clip may be used at the top, on one side, or at the corner of a sheaf of papers as shown in Figure 3. A number of clips may be used along the top or along a side edge of a sheaf of papers to bind them in book form and, in this case, it is preferable that the clips should be made of a heavier gauge wire. Such clips may have a space between the plane containing the front limbs B and that containing the rear limbs A, the size of the space being variable to suit the thicknesses of the sheafs of paper to be clipped together.

I claim:

1. A paper clip of continuous resilient wire comprising a pair of adjacent straight substantially parallel first arms, second arms extending at substantially right angles in opposite directions from an adjacent first end of each first arm, third arms extending from the ends of the second arms and being inclined towards the first arms, said first, second and third arms lying in the same plane, and fourth arms lying in said plane, extending generally back toward the first and second arms and being joined to ends of the said third arms by arcuate portions adjacent the second ends of said first arms and on the same side of the first arms as said second arms, said arcuate portions projecting out of said plane, a cross bar forming a looped portion connecting the ends of said fourth arms by crossing said first arms, said looped portion projecting out of said plane on the same side of said plane as said arcuate portions.

2. A paper clip as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second ends of said first arms have loop extensions curved over and outwards in the same plane to increase frictional contact of a paper insert.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,638 Larrabee June 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 281,894 Great Britain Dec. 15, 1927 

